Monthly Archives: March 2014

A New Paradigm for Executive Search?

Posted on March 30, 2014 by

Lately I’ve been researching and talking to various leaders in a number of global executive search companies.  It’s no small industry either, being estimated at close to $10 billion. And at some point almost all large companies utilize executive search, whether to … Continue reading →

Posted in consulting, corporate culture, Human Psychology, John R Childress, leadership, Life Skills, Organization Behavior, Personal Development, Psychology, strategy execution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Culture By Design, Culture By the Numbers

Posted on March 26, 2014 by

In my executive speeches and my recent book, LEVERAGE: The CEO’s Guide to Corporate Culture, I use the case study of Zappos.com, the internet shoe and clothing retailer to illustrate the power of culture by design. If you don’t know … Continue reading →

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My Heroes . . .

Posted on March 23, 2014 by

Early in life all of us have had heroes; people, living and past, real or larger than life characters from novels or comic books. They inspired us.  They provided us with role models of courage, compassion, resourcefulness, grit. Their actions … Continue reading →

Posted in Classical Music, Human Psychology, John R Childress, leadership, Life Skills, parenting, Self-improvement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Musical Life: The Four Types of Practice

Posted on March 18, 2014 by

I know that the most joy in my life has come to me from my violin.  Albert Einstein Being the father of a young classical violinist is, in most cases, a situation of observe quietly and don’t give advice!  All … Continue reading →

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Corporate Culture, Professionalism and the Conundrum of Subcultures

Posted on March 14, 2014 by

Conundrum:  (noun) a confusing or difficult problem or question. In my last blog post, The Illusion of Corporate Culture, Part 2, I focused on why I believe there is no one single corporate culture in an organization, but instead culture … Continue reading →

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The Illusion of Corporate Culture, part 2

Posted on March 9, 2014 by

In my previous post, The Illusion of Corporate Culture, I put forth a heretical point of view: There is no one corporate culture.  Organizations are really a collection of subcultures. If the subcultures are aligned with the overall business needs … Continue reading →

Posted in consulting, corporate culture, John R Childress, leadership, Organization Behavior, strategy execution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Kip” van Winkle and Rethinking Leadership . . .

Posted on March 6, 2014 by

Imagine this modern twist on the old story of Rip van Winkle. The very weird day of “Kip” van Winkle, senior executive: It took Kip most of breakfast to fully wake up.  After all, 50 years asleep is a rather … Continue reading →

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